Communications

State Board of Education Approves an Emergency Amendment for the Route to Substitute Certification

The State Board of Education (State Board) authorized the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to request the Secretary of State and Joint Committee on Administrative Rules allow the new amendment to the certification process for substitute teachers (5 CSR 20-400.220) to take effect in early November instead of December 31, 2021.

Eight Missouri Schools Earn National Blue Ribbon Accolades

Missouri’s eight Gold Star Schools for 2021 have also been recognized as U.S. Department of Education (USED) National Blue Ribbon Schools. The National Blue Ribbon Schools program recognizes individual schools for either their outstanding academic achievement (top 15 percent in the state based on English and mathematics assessment scores and graduation rates) or their performance at high academic levels while serving a significant proportion of disadvantaged students.

Missouri’s 2021 National Blue Ribbon Schools include:

James Young Named 2022 Missouri Teacher of the Year

James Young, a Musical Theatre, Vocal Music, and Guitar teacher at the Johnson-Wabash 6th Grade Center in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, was selected by a committee of his peers and education partners across the state as the 2022 Missouri Teacher of the Year. He becomes the 53rd Missouri Teacher of the Year since the program’s inception in 1957, and he is the first recipient from the Ferguson-Florissant School District.

DESE Releases Preliminary Statewide Missouri Assessment Program Data

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) today released preliminary statewide 2020-21 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) data during the State Board of Education’s meeting. The results represent data from the required Grade Level and End-of-Course (EOC) state assessments, which include English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics for grades 3-8; Science for grades 5 and 8; and EOC exams in English II, Algebra I, and Biology.